Will consumers soon be affected by new price increases? The Regional Association of Food Industries (Aria) of Alsace called for it on Tuesday. She wants a “collective awareness” of the difficulties of companies in the sector in the face of soaring energy prices, expressing the need to “increase the prices” of products to restore margins.
“We have inflation in France at 8.4% on food products, it is far below Germany, at 15.8%, or Spain, at 13.8%. This means that the (French) agro-food sector has absorbed the additional costs. Today it is no longer possible”, pleaded during a press conference in Strasbourg Sébastien Muller, the president of Aria Alsace, which federates 250 companies and nearly 50,000 employees.
“Today, we need rapid awareness and a return to the right price so that our industries continue to operate,” he added, defending an increase in food prices.
Will the supermarkets listen to them?
Sébastien Muller, also president of Maison Le Pic, a family-run SME producing Alsatian sauerkraut (2.2 million euros in turnover in 2021), reported increases “of 57% in energy prices on average for companies in the sector in 2022, “by 29% of the cost of agricultural raw materials and 26% of the cost of packaging”. “These are significant increases for an industry where margins have traditionally been tight,” he concluded.
“Massive retailers must hear the difficulties we are encountering, and allow us to raise prices,” pleaded Edouard Haag, president of the Meteor brewery (33.4 million euros in turnover in 2020 ). “If we cannot pass on these increases, our companies are no longer sustainable, and it is this industrial fabric that will suffer”.
Review the aid scheme for energy-intensive companies according to energy expenditure in 2022
The Aria also called on the government to review its aid system for energy-intensive companies, no longer awarding this aid according to energy expenditure for the year 2021, but according to that of 2022. “We must not punish the good students, those who made an effort” early on, claimed Nicolas Schulé, the president of Cafés Sati (41.3 million euros in turnover in 2021).
For Aria, calculating aid based on energy expenditure in 2021 amounts to subsidizing companies that had not sought to optimize their energy consumption before the surge in gas and electricity prices observed in 2022, in particular at following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Almost a century-old company, Cafés Sati saw their annual bill double in 2022 for the 2,800 megawatt hours (MWh) of gas consumed to roast 3,500 tonnes of coffee beans, despite numerous efforts made in recent years to reduce energy consumption. , particularly in terms of heating.
“Energy sobriety is one of our values, but we have to be able to enhance it, it must not do us a disservice”, pointed out Nicolas Schulé, regretting that his company is not eligible for “energy- intensive”.
The Aria was also concerned about possible load shedding operations, targeted and voluntary interruptions of the supply of energy in the event of tensions on the networks, especially during the winter. “If we have to set priorities this winter, it’s eating and heating it seems to me,” said Sébastien Muller.
“The load shedding is envisaged in geographical and not economic sectors”, he regretted, asking that the food industries, “in the front line” to meet the needs of the population, be spared from the cuts.